The R/V ANGARI crew welcomed a group of students and educators from Palm Beach Lakes Community High School to spend a day working alongside scientists from Florida International University studying sharks in Palm Beach County.
EXPEDITION DETAILS
February 27, 2026
Palm Beach County, FL
Mia Gabb
Sophia Hemsi
Jordan Meckstroth
William Sample
Lacy Smith
All sharks were fished for, caught, studied and released for research purposes under Florida permits held by Florida International University scientists.
A group of students and educators from Palm Beach Lakes Community High School joined scientists from Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Arts, Sciences and Education for a day of shark research as part of our Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program. Students spent the day learning about and deploying drumlines, a specialized fishing gear used for shark research, as well as building and deploying a baited remote underwater video system (BRUVS).
The team began the day by deploying their BRUVS in the Lake Worth Lagoon, with the hope of capturing footage of life below the surface. The BRUVS consists of a metal frame that houses an underwater camera facing a bait cage and sits on the seafloor. The team deployed two BRUVS throughout the day, with one located just south of the Palm Beach Inlet and the other north of Blue Heron Bridge. The second BRUVS near Blue Heron Bridge captured several curious gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus) investigating the bait cage!
Once students were divided into teams, they began building, baiting and deploying drumlines. Drumlines consist of a baited circle hook attached to a monofilament line, which is connected to a concrete weight on a swivel, in order for a hooked shark to be able to continue to swim freely in circles around the weight. A float line connects the weight to a floating buoy on the surface of the water, which marks its position to allow for recovery. Every group cheered on their teammates as they deployed and hauled a total of 24 drumlines throughout the day! Although no sharks were caught, students applied their newly learned shark research skills and gained firsthand experience with marine science fieldwork.
On the way back to the dock, the group enjoyed a sunny ride back on the flybridge of the R/V ANGARI and debriefed the events of the day with the science team. Students helped collect important data that can help give scientists a better understanding of life in the Lake Worth Lagoon and we are grateful for an epic day on the water with Palm Beach Lakes Community High School!
This expedition was made possible with funding from the Great Charity Challenge and The Rota Foundation.
CHIEF SCIENTIST
Will Sample is a Ph.D. candidate in the Marine Community and Behavioral Ecology Lab at Florida International University. His current research uses both long-term historical datasets and newer methods, such as high-resolution accelerometry, to study the movement and behavioral ecology of juvenile bull sharks. He specifically focuses on the way these sharks may be transporting nutrients across habitat boundaries, how they may be optimizing their movements to save energy and what the long-term implications of different behaviors they specialize in may be. Will’s research in the Florida Everglades studying the ways sharks move through this crucial ecosystem is important for conservation and informing habitat restoration and management efforts. Will earned a B.S. in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Florida Atlantic University in 2018 and has lived all throughout Florida for most of his life, from Jacksonville to Jupiter to the Keys. He is passionate about community outreach and education, particularly regarding Florida’s natural habitats, and currently serves as lead scientist for ANGARI’s Palm Beach County based Coastal Ocean Explorers: Sharks program aboard R/V ANGARI.
